What The Loss Of Michael Raffl Means For The Philadelphia Flyers

By Steven Smith

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Raffl has done nothing but blossom for the Philadelphia Flyers since he played his first game back on Oct. 12, but he’ll have to take a rest before he can make full bloom. Roughly midway through the first period of last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, Raffl took a hit along the boards. It took Raffl a few seconds before he was finally able to lift himself from the ice, and now he is believed to have a concussion.

Injuries have plagued the Flyers as of late. They’ve been lucky enough to lose no more than one player at a time, but every time one player comes back from the injured list another player goes on it. Unlike the other guys who have spent time on the injury list this season, Raffl brings something that none of the other players do — fresh new blood.

Philadelphia is filled with young talent but not so much new talent. As far as the Flyers are concerned, Raffl is the newest player to the NHL. The 25-year old rookie brings a style of play that many teams are unfamiliar with. It’s hard to prepare for a player who’s as dynamic as he is. Simply looking at film isn’t quite enough because he always seems to be doing something different each time he’s out on the ice. Part of that is because he’s still learning which is another reason why he’s difficult to contain.

The concussion couldn’t have come at worse time for Raffl. With the Sochi Winter Olympics set to take place in about six weeks, Raffl will want to be in prime shape for the tournament. He’s already been confirmed to be a part of team Austria. The young left wing has recently been spending time on the team’s top line with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek as well which speaks wonders about how great of a player he is developing into.

The Flyers have some big divisional games coming up, so the sooner Raffl returns, the better. No timeline for a return has been established yet. Fans can only hope the concussion won’t cause much of a setback.